Small electronic devices, such as sensors, are increasingly used in daily life. For example, electronic devices can be used to monitor pressure, temperature, linear acceleration and angular acceleration in automobiles, industrial manufacturing equipment, or in wearable devices. Military personnel use sensors to monitor their own troops or to spy on others. Sensors can detect sound, movement or the presence of large ferro-magnetic objects.
A growing problem with the ubiquitous deployment of sensors is their presence after they have completed their mission. In civilian applications, the sensors occupy space in land-fills or become unwanted litter. In military applications, the sensor can fall into enemy hands and can be reverse-engineered. Knowledge of even the presence of a sensor can give an enemy valuable information about the presence and intention of a future military mission.
Beyond electronic devices, such as sensors, materials which decompose at a particular time, whether triggered by an external stimulus, natural stimulus, or simply a timed-reaction, are of interest. Packages, packing materials, enclosures, wearable clothing, parachutes and other items may be made from such decomposing materials. Decomposition of the items eliminates the cost of retrieval and disposal, and eliminates the risk of an adversary discovering one's intentions or location. For example, parachutes are bulky to recover after use and at times, their detection is undesirable. Simply the presence of the spent polymer item may take up space and the component is no longer needed or wanted.